Crashing Waves
by rainstormcandles
Summary: Everyone panics when Twister has a near-death experience; he fears he will never be able to surf again. Twister x Reggie
1. Chapter 1

Twister's eyes squinted open, bright sunlight filled them. He couldn't make out the figures that surrounded him. He saw a wave of purple in front of his face before his eyes closed and he was brought back under the water, toppling around while the waves forcibly spun him in summer-salts. His eyes opened again, he saw the sky and the shadows of the bodies coming closer. They were saying something, but they weren't making sense. They weren't using real words, just speaking noise through his muffled ears. With his eyes shut, he returned under the sea. He couldn't escape. Every time he tried to come up, another wave knocked him back under. He felt something strange. There was something pressing against his mouth, then chest, then mouth. Suddenly, he wasn't under the water anymore, he was on the beach, kissing the girl of his dreams who also happened to be one of his best friends. _No_, he thought, _not back under the water_, his mind quickly switched back to desperately seeking oxygen as the salt water seemed to fill his lungs. He reached out, but no one was around to see him. He was alone as the undertow turned him again, having more control of him than he had of himself. Something heavy was banging on his chest, almost like a knock of someone trying to get in to help him. His eyes popped open and he started coughing up salt water. The figures from before were still slightly fuzzy, but very distinctly his three best friends. Otto was pale and looked scared. Sam was trying to steady his breathing, although he looked to Twister as though he was about to faint. Reggie was closest to him, she was shaking and a tear was falling down her cheek (at least he thought it was a tear. He had never seen Reggie cry before, so it might very well just have been salt water.)

She was smile at him repeating, "You're alright," while her smile seemed to get less steady and another tear left her eye.

"Don't cry," was all he said, lifting a weak arm up to Reggie, pressing his thumb to her cheek and wiping away a tear. He wanted to comfort her, but he was very unsure of what was going on. Everything looked hazy and there were a few black dots floating around the air. Why was everyone so upset? And why did his head feel like it had been pounded in with a sledge hammer? He heard some sort of a high-pitched alarm and turned his head. He saw red lights on a white van and people stepping out of it and coming towards him. An ambulance. That's what that must be.

One of the people was a dark-haired man who shined a light into his eyes, then asked, "What is your name?"

"Twister Rodriguez," he replied, wondering why this man wanted to know his name. _Oh, _he thought, _this is one of the tests they do on people. Oh man, I'm awful at tests. I hope I do okay. Everyone's watching. _"Oh wait," Twister said remembering that wasn't his real name. "Maurice Rodriguez." _Great, now I got the first question wrong._

"What day is it?" the man asked.

"Uh, Tuesday?" Twister replied, slightly unsure of his answer. He was always getting days mixed up in the summer. As far as he was concerned, when there were no tests or quizzes to worry about, every day is just another day of surfing, skating, and having fun with his friends.

"How old are you?" Twister was a little annoyed the EMS guy didn't give him an answer on whether or not he was correct about the day.

"Seventeen," he was sure on that one. It had only been a few weeks ago that they celebrated his birthday.

"What year is it?" he asked.

"Two-thousand and..." something. Something. Why couldn't he remember the rest. "Four?" he said guessing, very uncertain about his answer.

"It is 2007. Do you remember what happened?"

"I was in the water. We were surfing and the wave-" he thought through the scene in his mind. He was following Otto and they were going through a barrel wave. The wave had started to close and he was trying to get out before it closed on top of him. Suddenly, his mind flashed to the scene where he was helplessly turning around under the waves with no escape from the water. He tried to make his mind stop remembering. He didn't want to think about it. "The wave crashed on me. That's all I remember," he said abruptly.

"We think he hit his head on his board when he went under," Sam informed the man.

More questions from the EMS guy. More explanations from the gang. Everyone seemed to be frantically talking all at once. Twister's head hurt and he didn't want to listen. He tuned them out, but was brought back when heard shouting from a distance and saw Raymundo and Tito running towards him.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Raymundo asked in a panicked voice.

"He has a mild head injury, looks like a concussion" replied the EMS guy. "We're going to take him in and run some tests."

_Great, _thought Twister, _more tests. _The EMS guys had put him inside the ambulance before he could fully register what was going on.

"Head injuries can be pretty serious, can't they?" Reggie asked as they watched the ambulance drive away.

"He's gonna be alright, right Dad?" Otto asked, his voice shaking a little.

Raymundo pulled her close, "Twister's going to be okay. Don't you worry. These guys know what they're doing." Reggie was unconvinced as she could clearly hear the worry in her father's voice as he spoke.

Inside the ambulance, Twister was getting annoyed with the EMS guys. The one kept asking him dumb questions and he really didn't want to be stuck in there with him. He wished they had let the guys ride with him. He was tired and he just wanted to rest, but the men sitting with him wouldn't allow it. He looked over and saw Tito. What was Tito doing there? How long had Tito been there?

He must have noticed Twister staring at him because he looked up and said, "Hang in there little cuz, you gonna be alright."


	2. Chapter 2

After his CT scan and MRI, Twister heard a knock on the door and Raymundo peaked his head in the hospital room. He walked in and Tito, Sam, and Otto followed.

"How you feeling, cuz?" Tito asked.

"Well, my head still hurts," Twister said, rubbing the spot where he had hit it.

Sam held up a video camera. "Thought you might want this back," he said as he placed it on the table by the bed.

Twister had forgotten about the camera. He had handed it to Sam to take over right before he and Otto went to try to catch that wave. He was glad Sam had still taken care of it, despite the chaos. He smiled, "Thanks, Squidman."

"Heard the scans were okay," Raymundo said.

"Yeah, apparently I have a concussion. They told me I'll have to wait a little while before doing any sports," Twister said, disappointed.

"What?" Otto cried, outraged. "But we have to practice for the game! It's only two weeks away!"

Twister didn't remember what he was talking about but Raymundo jumped in, "Cool down, Rocket boy."

"Don't you worry, little cuz, we'll give you plenty of ice cream to make you forget all about not being able to play."

"Not play?" Otto was still worked up, shocked at the lack of concern about the game from the others.

"Chill, Otto," Sam started. "They don't know when he'll be able to play again. He might still make it back before the game."

"What game?" he asked as he sat up and put his hand to his head, feeling a bump that still hurt. "And where's Reggie?"

Raymundo frowned, "She's, uh, looking for some coffee."

"Oh, okay," Twister wondered what it was Raymundo was leaving out.

"Dude, does your bed have one of those remote controls?" Otto asked.

Twister handed him the remote and Otto started pressing buttons, moving the bed up and down, before Raymundo made him stop. They all hung out in his room for awhile before Raymundo told them they had better get going.

"Let's let Twister get some rest," he said. "Tito, take the kids out to the car. I'll meet you guys out there."

He tossed the keys to Tito and sat down next to the bed, wiping a hand over his face once the door had shut.

"You alright, Raymundo?" Twister asked.

"About Reggie. She's," he sighed. "She's having a really hard time with all of this. I know she'd want to be here with you, but when I saw her, she was wondering the halls and making excuses not to come with us. It's not because she doesn't care about you, because she does. I think it's actually because of how much she does care about you." Twister silently looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "You know that her mom died surfing. Otto doesn't really remember, but it was really scary for us. I was a wreck. I was lucky that Tito stepped in and took care of Reggie and Otto for awhile. I think Reggie had a hard time seeing me like that though. She's still pretty shaken up from your accident. I think it hit a little close to home for her and she was afraid she would lose you too. Just give her some time."

Twister didn't say anything but he nodded. "Alright, well," Raymundo said, standing up, "I guess I'll let you rest up."

After Raymundo left, Twister had fallen asleep twice. The first time, he was woken up by a nurse who asked him more questions and checked up on him. The second time, he woke up to the door opening. He opened his eyes to find his brother walking in. Twister grabbed the camera and turned it on, pointing it towards Lars as he walked towards him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Maybe I can make a documentary out of this whole thing. Try to act upset," Twister teased him, zooming in on his face.

"Get that camera out of my face, dork," Lars said, putting his hand over the lens. Twister turned it off and set it on the table. "I always thought I'd be the one sending you to the hospital," Lars joked.

"Beat you to it," Twister replied with a smile.

As they had gotten older, Twister and Lars had become a lot closer. They still fought from time to time and Lars still ragged on him, but Twister was kind of glad to have Lars home for the summer.

"Sorry I'm just now getting here. I was out with the guys and I didn't have my cell on me," he said a little shamefully.

"No problemo, bro," Twister replied, suddenly realizing his parents hadn't been in to see him yet. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"They're on their way back. They freaked when they heard. You should've heard the messages they left me. Anyway, they should be here in a few hours."

"A few hours?" he repeated, confused.

"Yeah, they were at Abluela's house, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Right," Twister replied, not really remembering.

"How hard did you hit that head of yours anyway?"

Twister didn't pick up on Lars' joking tone and replied seriously. " I don't know. It's all kind of a blur."

Lars face sunk. He frowned and looked at the ground. Twister thought his brother's eyes looked glazed over, but he thought it might just be the concussion making him see things. Lars spoke quietly and his voice was unsteady. "They said you almost died, man."

Twister wasn't used to seeing his brother like this. He wasn't sure what to do or say. "Hey, but I didn't die. So that's good," he said in a light-hearted voice, snapping Lars back to his normal self.

"Now that your little hockey team only has three players, it's going to be even easier to whomp your asses."

"In your dream, Lars."

"So did you have that whole life-flash-before-your-eyes thing?" Lars asked curiously.

"Not really. I mostly just remembered being under the water," Twister swallowed. His next words were slow and careful. "I actually, um, saw Reggie. I mean, whenever I was still kind of blacked out."

Lars wasn't surprised. He knew that his brother had liked Reggie, although he didn't quite know the extent of his crush. "Dude," he told Twister, "They said she was the one who saved you."

"She did?"

"Yeah, she gave you CPR. They said you would've been a total goner if it hadn't been for her."

So he hadn't _completely_ imagined kissing Reggie, even though it wasn't actually a kiss. The kiss of life, maybe. He smiled at the thought of her. "I'm in love with her, man," he told Lars. It was the first time he had ever said it out loud. "I know it sounds lame, but it's her, you know? It's always been her."


	3. Chapter 3

Lars had been hanging out with Twister for about an hour while his brother drifted in and out of sleep. When the door opened, he assumed it was another nurse coming to check on him. He was surprised to see Reggie walk through the door.

"Oh, sorry," she whispered, seeing Lars sitting next to his sleeping brother.

"No it's fine," Lars replied quietly as he stood up. "I'm actually gonna go grab some dinner. You wanna take over here?"

"Yeah," she smiled as she started to walk over and take his seat.

Before turning the handle on the door, Lars turned back around. "Hey," he said to Regge, his voice a little shaky. "Thank you."

Reggie gave him a weak smile before he walked out. She had never seen Lars seem to care so much before. She took a seat next to Twister and watched him as he slept. She still felt uneasy about the whole thing, but was calmed as she watched his chest rise and fall with his breathing. He had only slept for about twenty minutes when he started to move and his eyes slowly opened.

"Hey," he smiled as he saw her sitting next to him.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," she replied with a grin.

"I thought you had left already."

"My dad found me on his way out. He talked to me and told me he thought I should stay. He said I could call him and he'd come pick me up whenever I'm ready to go."

Twister remembered what Raymundo had told him about Reggie. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She sort of laughed but also looked as if she might cry. "I'm not the one with the concussion."

He gave her a smile, then his expression became more serious. "Are you okay though?"

Reggie looked down. Her eyes started to fill with water. "You weren't breathing. I-" she swallowed and a tear ran down her cheek. "I thought you were dead."

Twister reached his arm over and took her hand. She didn't look up at him, but his hand was warm against hers and she felt a sense of comfort. She hated people seeing her cry. She wiped her face with her other hand. She couldn't seem to make the tears stop falling.

"Apparently it's only because of you that I didn't die," he said, desperately hoping it was the right thing to say.

"It's just crazy, you know? One minute we're winning the semi-finals and the next minute, we're in the hospital."

_The hockey finals_, he thought. _That's the game they had been talking about_. "We won the semi-finals?"

"Yeah. It was this morning. We had gone surfing to celebrate. You... you don't remember?" she looked concerned.

Twister shook his head. "Um, not really."

"What do you remember?" she asked.

Twister thought about it for a minute. He couldn't remember much at all from the past week. "I remember following Otto and then being under the water. Then the ambulance guy came and here we are."

"You don't remember anything from before that?" Twister shook his head and Reggie looked worried. He hated seeing her like that. He wanted to do something to stop her from being sad.

"Hey, maybe the whole head-injury thing will end up making me like super smart when I get my memory back," he joked.

"I think that's only in the movies," she laughed. He liked it when she laughed.

"But wouldn't it be so cool if it happened to me?"

He kept the rest of the conversation light. He joked around, longing for her to stay happy. They were laughing when the nurse came in to check on him. She asked him some questions and as she left the room, Twister made a face to Reggie from having to be constantly evaluated. Reggie smiled up at him.

"You know," she said. "You were the one who scored the last goal and even got us in the finals."

Twister smiled, "Was I? What was the score? How did we play?"

Reggie had been in the middle of describing the game to him when the door bursted open. They both looked over to see Twister's parents frantically running over to him.

"Mi hijo!" his mother exclaimed as she ran over and hugged him. "We were so worried!"

His father had told him about when they got the phone call and rushed back before he started asking him questions about what had happened. Reggie was feeling very out of place and decided it was time to leave.

She stood up, "Well I'm, uh, going to get going," she murmured while inching towards the door.

Mr. Rodriguez' arm caught her shoulder before she opened the door. "Reggie," he said, starting to get a little choked up. "We cannot thank you enough for what you've done."

Mrs. Rodriguez ran over to her and held her in a tight hug, saying something, but Reggie couldn't make out what it was through her sobbing. She didn't know what to say. People kept thanking her and telling her she saved him and she didn't know how to respond. She didn't like it. She didn't feel like any attention should even be directed at her. What was she even supposed to say? 'You're welcome'? 'Yes, your child is alive and it's because of me'? Being thanked only reminded her of the moment where he laid in the sand without a breath. She didn't want to be reminded of that. She liked it better when she was just with Twister. He was so relaxed about the whole thing, joking with her, as if the whole thing had never happened. He made her forget about the pain and fear she felt.

She gave them a weak smile and awkwardly said, "Yeah, I'm so glad he's alright." She looked over at Twister and waved goodbye. "Um, I'll come by tomorrow to check on you. I mean, we all will. Dad and Otto too."

"Later Reg," he held up his hand and she heard his parents start asking him more questions as she walked out.


	4. Chapter 4

Twister was released pretty early on in the day. His memory had mostly come back and he had been instructed to not do anything that could lead to another head-injury for at least a week. Once Otto had determined that his best bro was going to be alright, he had no problems ditching him to go surfing or skating. He had explained that it would really be rude of him not to because then Twister would feel like he was holding everyone back from having fun. In his mind, he was really doing that _for _Twister. Reggie didn't buy it and wasn't going to leave Twister alone and bored. Sam offered to stay with them, but Otto had forced him to come along with whatever he was doing. He didn't want to do it alone and he knew his sister was determined not to go. Sam groaned and unwillingly followed Otto. It worked out at Madtown because Twister and Reggie could sit on the sidelines and still talk to them. Reggie had still done a little bit of skating while they were there, but felt bad knowing that Twister couldn't do anything. He tried to convince her he was happy to sit and film them, but she didn't buy it, and mostly just joined him in watching the others.

Twister took a seat on the sand while Otto ran out into the water. Otto shouted for Sam who followed behind him. Reggie sat down next to Twister.

At first he had his camera pointed towards the ocean, then turned it to Reggie as he spoke. "It's no use; they're too far out to get anything with this lens."

"Don't worry," Reggie said trying to encourage him as he filmed her. "You got plenty of them at Madtown. Maybe tonight we can all watch. Unless you'd rather us wait until you make cuts and stuff."

"Nah, we can watch tonight," he said, turning off the camera and putting it by his side. He looked out at the water and frowned. "You should be out there with them."

"_You_ should be out there with them. And you will be again in no time," she smiled at him. "I, however, am happy sitting her on the shore with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Well at least the company's good," she said, bumping him with her shoulder.

He smiled back at her and they turned their heads to watch Otto and Sam. Otto had just caught a nice wave and it was starting to barrel. Suddenly, Twister was ambushed of flashes of the wave crashing over him. He couldn't get above water. He kept trying and another wave fiercely pushed him back down. He felt a hand on his back and he felt comforted, snapping out of it as he heard her voice.

"Twister?" Reggie asked, worried. "Are you okay?"

Twister was embarrassed. He thought that Reggie must be thinking he was pathetic, not even being able to handle watching a few waves. "Um," he said uncomfortably, "Do you care if we go?"

"Oh Twister," she said in a tone that, to Twister, sounded a little like pity. He didn't like being pitied. "Of course I don't mind," she said getting up and keeping her hand on his back as he got up and walked. He couldn't tell how he felt about that. On one hand, it was really nice and it give him comfort. On the other hand, he could feel her trying to steady him by keeping it there and he felt helpless, leading him to feel more embarrassed. Had he almost passed out? He certainly felt like he had come close. Reggie must have noticed because once they were on the boardwalk and no longer facing the ocean, she sat him on a bench and pulled a water out of her bag.

"Here," she said handing him the water. "Drink this." He obeyed, feeling less dizzy after doing so. "Twister," she started, "are you-?"

"I'm fine," Twister interrupted. She was quiet. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just..." he trailed off. She remained quiet waiting for him to finish his thought. He smiled and chuckled to himself. "You know that song? The one that everyone's obsessed with that me and Otto make fun of all the time?"

"Gonna have to be a little more specific," Reggie said with a smile.

"'Tell me how I'm 'spose to breathe with no air.' I totally get her point now. Because now I can confirm from first-hand experience that breathing with no air is not possible. Actually, I think it's more along the lines of drowning," he gave her a smile.

She didn't find it very amusing. In fact, it made her feelings of fear for his life come back to her. She knew he didn't want that. He didn't want her to be worried or upset, but she was. He was trying to lighten the mood and she wanted to laugh at his joke to show him it was working, but it wasn't. All she could muster up was a small half-laugh before looking down. It was happening again. She could feel him looking at her and she turned her head to the other side. She felt the tears start to rise in her eyes. She tried to fight them. This wasn't her. She wasn't a crier. Twister had already seen her cry. Twice now. She didn't want him to see it happen again, especially when he was trying to make her feel better. She let out a deep breath in hopes that it might somehow prevent the tears from leaving her eyes. No luck.

"Hey," he said, wrapping his arms around her and resting his cheek against the top of her forehead as he looked down at her. Wasn't she the one supposed to be comforting him? She was too weak. She couldn't even try to comfort him without breaking down. She was failing, but as he held her, she almost didn't care anymore. She buried her face in his chest and he stroked her hair. For a few minutes, they were still as she he held her.

Her breathing steadied and she lifted up her head, looking up into his eyes. "I can't imagine not having you in my life."

Twister lifted up his hand and wiped a tear from her cheek. He kept his hand against her face and it was warm on her skin. "You don't have to," he said quietly.

Their faces were close and they leaned closer to one another. Twister's hand slid to the back of her head before softly pressing his lips against hers. He kissed her gently, carefully, as he felt her hand resting on his chest. After it ended, her head fell back into his chest. His arm wrapped around her, resting his hand on top of hers. He watched the people on their boardwalk, continuing on with their lives as he ran a thumb back and forth over the back of her hand.


	5. Chapter 5

They met up with Sam and Otto at the Shack for lunch. No one seemed particularly surprised when they announced that they had gotten together. Everyone had been aware that there had been something between them for awhile. They just didn't know when they were finally going to do something about it. It came as a shock to no one that it had happened after Twister's near-death experience. Everyone was happy for them and everything felt right in the world.

For the rest of the week, Twister and Reggie mostly just sat and watched as Otto and Sam skated. Twister got a lot of good filming in, so he was happy about that, even if he couldn't actually do any of the stuff. When Otto and Sam would go surfing, the two would go off on their own before they all met up for lunch at the Shack. Reggie didn't want Twister to sit there and have to watch them all have fun while he wasn't allowed to do anything, so she rarely joined Otto and Sam. The only time she left Twister on his own to watch was during hockey practices. She knew she needed to be practicing with the finals coming up soon. Otto had tried to convince Twister to practice as well. He tried to tell him that the doctor couldn't possibly have meant no sports for a whole week, he probably just meant to take it easy for a couple of days. He told him that things the doctors said were always more of suggestions anyway and they needed him for practice. Twister was quick to listen to Otto since he was more than ready to get back out there again, but Reggie and Sam wouldn't allow it. He ended up taping them instead while they practiced and Otto would make them review the tapes at night so they could make the necessary adjustments.

After they had finished hockey practice, Sam said he needed to go home and get working on some computer programming stuff. Twister went back with Otto and Reggie to their house and Reggie went up to take a shower while the boys played video games. Once she had come down, she heard Otto and Twister in the living room.

"Yeah! First place, baby!" Otto said as they finished a round.

"For now," Twister said as they started another round and Twister took the lead.

Reggie walked in and took a seat on the couch next to Twister. The boys glanced up at her for a second as they continued to play. She wrapped her hands around Twister's arm and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You smell nice," Twister told her as he got a whiff of her shampoo. It distracted him and he tried to jerk the remote, but his kart had already fallen off the edge.

Otto laughed, "How's it feel to be in last place, bro?"

"We still have two laps left. I can catch up," Twister replied confidently.

Reggie watched as they continued to race and Twister started passing the other players. She slid her toe against his foot, sending a chill to Twister.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Otto asked Reggie.

"Watching you guys play," she replied.

He snorted. "You've never had any interest in watching us play video games before. You're only here now that you and Twister are a thing."

"I've watched you guys play plenty of times. Right, Twister?"

"Uh," Twister knew Otto was right, but he also felt like he was supposed to be taking Reggie's side. "I like having you here, Reg. You could be like my good luck charm."

"Some good luck charm," Otto laughed. "She made you fall off the edge."

"I can still catch up."

"Uh-huh," Otto replied sarcastically.

Reggie watched as they finished the last lap. Otto came in first, while Twister got third. She felt like it had been her fault that he hadn't won, but the next round went better for him. She was just happy to watch them with her head comfortably leaning against his arm.

"You kids hungry?" Raymundo called out as he walked through the door. "I got pizza."

They paused the game and Otto hopped over the couch, heading to the kitchen. Twister lifted Reggie's chin with his hand, stealing a kiss before they made their way to the kitchen.

O.O

"So tomorrow?" Otto asked.

"Yep," Twister said proudly. "The doctor said that after today, I should be good to go."

"That's great Twister!" Sam exclaimed. "It's hard trying to keep up with Otto. I'm glad you'll be the one doing it from now on."

"I can't wait to get back out there! I feel like I haven't skated in years!"

"Forget skating!" Otto said. "There's supposed to be a huge swell tomorrow. The waves are calling us!"

"Oh," Twister said uncomfortably. "Um, cool."

Reggie saw Twister's expression and tried to think of an excuse for him to skip the waves. "Except he can't go! He, um, promised to held me with an article for the Zine."

"Why do you need _Twister's_ help for the Zine? Take the Squid," Otto asked.

"I'm doing an article about, uh, sport injuries. I was going to get his perspective."

"Reggie, the Zine doesn't come out for weeks," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but I wanted to get a head start because," she trailed off. She was running out of excuses.

"Because otherwise I might lose my memory again and I won't be able to help," Twister interjected, faking a smile.

Otto and Sam gave each other skeptical looks. "Whatever," Otto said, then murmured to Sam as they walked away, "They probably just wanna go make out anyway."


	6. Chapter 6

When Twister had seen Otto and Sam skate off, he made his way over to the Rocket house. He didn't want to have to make anymore excuses and he knew Otto would give him a hard time if he saw him. He let himself in and found Reggie making coffee in the kitchen.

"Hey," she said upon seeing him. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet," he replied, taking a seat at the table.

"Good. I'll make us some breakfast," she said grabbing some milk out of the fridge.

"Hey, Reg?" he paused until she turned around. "Um, thanks."

"No problem. I know how Otto can be. He's so one-track-minded and I don't think he really gets this stuff. He's more into pushing people way past their limits."

"I guess I'll have to tell him the truth eventually," he said gloomily. "It's just so embarrassing."

She sat down next to him and put her hand over his. "This is completely normal, Twister. You've just had a near-death experience. No one, except my lame-o brother, would expect to to go back out so soon."

He gave her an unconvincing smile before changing the subject. "So what's for breakfast?"

"How do waffles sound?"

"Perfect," he stood up and walked over to the fridge. "What do you want me to do?"

Reggie thought. "Um, do you wanna start on some bacon? Or cut up some fruit?"

"Aye aye, captain," he said with a quick salute. When the bacon was in the oven and he had finished finished with the fruit, he came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck as she was putting the second waffle on the plate. A shiver ran up her spine and she turned her head, slowly moving her mouth towards his as her eyes began to close. One kiss and she wanted more. She turned her body and wrapped her arms around his back, kissing him again until they were both startled by the sound of the oven beeping.

"Our food's going to get cold," she pointed out in almost a whisper.

"I don't mind cold waffles," he said, brushing a hair behind her ear and leaning in again. They shared another soft, but short kiss before she brought them back into reality, turning around and handing him a plate.

After eating, they had sat on the couch and flipped through channels until they found something they liked. Twister reached his arm around Reggie and pulled her in, where she rested against his body. Reggie traced her finger over a scar on his arm. They weren't paying much attention to the show, but talking to each other instead.

"Were you really going to write an article about me for the Zine?" Twister asked, wondering if it was solely her excuse for ditching Otto and Sam.

"I was," she started hesitantly. "But don't worry about it. I'm just going to research concussions and surf accidents and stuff. You don't need to do anything."

"Oh," Twister said, disappointed. "So you don't really need me to help or anything?"

Reggie lifted herself into an upright position. "Of course not," she said, trying to be reassuring. "I would never ask you to try and re-live that."

"I wouldn't mind," Twister said quietly.

"Are... are you sure?" Reggie asked. She didn't want him to feel pressured into doing the article for her. Although it would help a lot to have his perspective. And she was a little curious what it was like.

"Yeah, definitely," she was surprised he almost seemed excited. "Do you wanna do it now?" He hopped up off the couch and his body turned towards the stairs.

"If you're sure."

Reggie followed him up the stairs and sat down in front of her computer while Twister sat on her bed. He picked up a book laying on her nightstand to see what she was reading. She flipped through some papers she had printed. It seemed like she had already started on it.

"What are those?" Twister asked curiously.

"Um," Reggie wondered if he thought it would be weird, but decided to tell him. "That night you were in the hospital, I couldn't really sleep. I was worried about you and I kind of started looking up different articles about head injuries and stuff." Twister smiled. He was glad to know how much she cared, even if she was embarrassed about it. She quickly tried to move on, "Do you wanna go ahead and get started?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me," he laid down on her bed, his head resting against the pillow. He grabbed a hackey-sack off her table and started tossing from one hand to the other, looking at the ceiling.

"Okay, so," she was still tip-toeing around the subject even though he had said he didn't mind. "Can you, um, describe what you remember from the time you decided to take the wave?"

He was silent for a moment, recalling the memory. Although his memory had returned a few days after he left the hospital, he still had a blank spot for this particular memory. "Otto was feeling great after making it to the finals. I guess we all were. He wanted to play follow-the-leader and there was a really good wave forming. I didn't have much time to think about it, I just agreed and went for it. We were both up and he did an aerial. I mimicked him without thinking much about it. The wave had started to barrel and since I was behind him, I wanted to speed up to make sure I didn't get caught in it. He did another trick and looked back, so I copied him. The wave was starting to close and I knew I wasn't going to make it so I bailed," he paused.

Reggie looked up at him, but didn't say anything. He stopped tossing the hackey-sack and laid still.

"I don't really remember this part. There's kind of a gap," he gave Reggie an apologetic look. "That might've been when I hit my head. "

"That's okay. Do you," she didn't want to push him to far, "do you remember anything else? It's okay if you don't or if you just want to stop."

"No, I'm good. Actually, I'm kind of glad I get to tell you. I haven't wanted to talk about it with anyone, but I guess I just feel like it's safe to tell you," Twister said. He thought it was actually helping him to talk about it. And now that he and Reggie were together, it felt like one of those things you don't tell to just anyone. He liked the idea of having something only she knew about him. Obviously, he knew it was going in the Zine, but no one else had heard him describe it. And he knew the article wasn't just going to be a play-by-play of it happening. He trusted her to write what she thought would be best.

"Of course it is," Reggie assured him. "And you're definitely reading it to approve it before I put it out." She gave him a wink.

"Well, the next thing I remember is being under the water. I don't know what it was, if it was hitting my head or what, but it seemed like the waves just kept rolling in, one after another, and I couldn't get out. I kept trying to find a way up, but the water was pulling me down and tossing me around and I couldn't even tell which way was up. It was really scary. I kept trying to find a way to get some air, any air, but all that was around me was more water. I don't know how I got out actually," he said, just realizing this. It was the first time he had pictured the scene and felt okay about it. He didn't feel panicked like he had before. Talking about it with Reggie almost made him feel safe in a weird way, like he knew she wouldn't have let him drown.

"Otto pulled you out," Reggie informed him. "He swam down and got you and we took you back to shore as fast as we could."

"The Squid saved the camera," Twister joked.

"Well, you know, priorities," she said grinning at him.

"Well the next thing I remember is laying on the beach and I didn't know what was going on. I kept flashing back to being knocked under the waves. Then I thought of-" Twister stopped and sheepishly smiled. "Well, you, actually."

"Me?" Reggie was surprised.

"I guess that's when I started to realize what was going on. I opened my eyes and you were there and I didn't know why you were crying, I just wanted to take away your pain. I looked over and Otto and Sam were there and there was a man from the ambulance asking me questions about my life. It's all sort of fuzzy."

Reggie set her pen and notebook down on her desk and looked at the floor.

"When I thought you had," she paused, unable to say it, "well, you know. I, um..."

He sat up and looked intently at her.

"I know we just got together like two seconds ago, but, Twister, I've known you my whole life. And I couldn't bare to see you go. I know I couldn't handle having you gone, but it was more than that. It was that you didn't know, that you would never know."

A moment passed and she didn't seem like she could continue her thought. Twister took her hand in his own. "Know what, Reg?"

"That... I love you," she finished as she nervously looked into his eyes.

"I love you too, Reggie." Twister said. He smiled, looking down and thinking to himself while rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "To be honest, I think I've loved you since I was like six."

She leaned off the edge of her chair and kissed him. It was slow and sweet. Their faces were still close together and they looked at one another, when Reggie seemed to think of something funny. She put a hand through his hair. "You mean you fell for me when I babysat you?" Reggie asked with a smirk.

Twister leaned back, rolling his eyes as he groaned, "You were _not_ my babysitter!"

"Keep telling yourself that, _Maurice_," Reggie teased him. She laughed then had a new thought. "Hey, I could help you if you want."

Twister looked at her crossly, "I don't need a babysitter."

She laughed and gave him a playful shove, "No, dork. I meant with surfing. If you wanna get back out there and not have to tell Otto, maybe you and I could go out and take it slow."

Twister wasn't quite sure what he thought. He didn't know if he was ready to be back in the ocean. He thought about Otto and having to tell him. He pictured a life where he never surfed again, he just watched from the beach while everyone else had fun. "Can we start tomorrow?" he asked.

After Reggie had finished asking him things for the article, Twister suggested they play one-on-one hockey. He knew they would have practice that night and he wanted to make sure he was playing okay. Besides that, it was another way to keep from meeting Otto and Sam at the beach. Towards the end of the game, they had both gotten sillier. Twister had started joking around and trying to cheat. They decided the next goal would win the game and when Reggie was about to hit it, Twister trapped her in his arms keeping her locked against his chest so she couldn't get to the puck.

"Foul," she cried, laughing as she tried to break free. She wiggled the hockey stick, trying to reach the puck, but it was no use, his hold on her was too strong. She gave up trying to fight him and used the hand that was smushed against his chest to grab his shirt and pull him down as she pressed her lips against his. He loosened his hold, throwing his hockey stick on the ground as he moved his hands to the small of her back and kissed her back. Reggie wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline from playing hockey, but this kiss had been more passionate than any of their previous ones. His lips were pressed hard against hers and she could feel his tongue starting to poke in, seeing if that was alright. She wrapped her free hand around his neck and pulled him in closer, wrestling her tongue against his. It sent chills through her body and she wondered how Twister had gotten so good at kissing. Eventually, they broke apart for air and they breathed heavily as they looked at one another. Reggie skated forward as her hands pressed against his chest, causing him to roll slightly backwards. She gave him another small kiss, distracting him before she quickly pulled away, putting her other hand on her hockey stick, and with a flick of her wrist, sending the puck into the goal.

"Game point," she whispered in his ear as she skated past him.


	7. Chapter 7

Reggie knocked on Twister's door early that morning, knowing they would have a few hours before Otto even woke up. Twister was confused when she didn't have her board, but she explained they were going to start with just water and move onto actually surfing later. They were both surprised at how much fun it was to just play in the ocean, splashing each other and hopping over the waves. They hadn't done that sort of thing since they were kids and they were having a great time. They had been waist-deep and decided to go out a little father. Bigger waves were breaking out there and they were able to still jump over a few before they broke, but a particularly large wave was already starting to break and they knew they'd have to dive under it. When Twister went under the wave, the panicked feeling returned. He felt like he wouldn't be able to escape, although it helped that he was still holding Reggie's hand. When they came above the surface, Reggie could tell something was wrong.

"Twister?" she looked over at him and put her hands on his arms, trying to calm him.

He was shaking and felt like he couldn't breath. Before she could do anything, she saw another wave behind them. There was no getting around it, they would have to go back under.

"Hold my hand and brace yourself," she said before they jumped under the second wave. As soon as they were above water, she started taking him to the shore as fast as she could before they had a chance to get caught under any other waves. Once they had gotten to a point where only their ankles were in the water, she looked into his eyes and saw his fear. She pulled his body to hers for a hug. It was hard for her to feel like she was doing anything to comfort him since he was so much taller than she was. She smoothed over his hair with her hand and he leaned his head down over her shoulder. She thought he might be crying. She rubbed his back and quietly hushed him to try to calm him. After a little while, she pulled him away, putting a hand to his face and looking into his eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

His eyes avoided hers. They were red. He had been crying. He stepped a few feet until they were out of the water and sat down on the sand. He was mad at himself for feeling afraid. Part of surfing was being able to stay calm in life-threatening situations and now he couldn't even go under a wave without panicking. He had been violently tossed and turns by waves thousands of times. Why was this time sticking with him? Had it been the head-injury? Or the realization that he did come close to dying? Why could he not just get over it and remain calm like he had always felt in the waves before all of this?

"I don't know if I can do this," he admitted.

"We don't have to, we can go home," Reggie replied, wrapping her hands around his arm.

"What if I never can? I mean, I couldn't even dive under a stupid wave. How am I ever going to be able to surf again?"

"You just have to give it time," she said, uncertain whether or not it was the right advice.

The two decided to walk to the Shack, where they sat down at the counter, giving half-smiles to Tito.

"You little cuzzes look like you could use a couple milkshakes," Tito said, instantly picking up on their moods.

"Thanks, Tito," Twister said weakly.

As he fixed their milkshakes, Twister rested his hand against his face and looked at the counter while Reggie looked at him with a concerned expression.

"Let me guess," Tito said as he put the milkshakes down in front of them, "You're having troubles getting back out on the waves?"

"How'd you know?" Twister looked up, surprised.

"This reminds me of the time your dad and I were water-skiing with a friend of ours," Tito started, "We were controlling the boat and trying to throw him off. We took a turn too sharp near the shore and he flew off straight into a group of rocks. He got a giant cut on his leg and had to get stitches."

"So how'd he overcome that and get back out on the water-skis?" Reggie asked.

"He didn't. I don't think he ever even went out on another boat again." Tito rubbed a hand to the back of his neck. "He kind of stopped talking to me and your dad after that."

"So how's that supposed to help me surf again?" Twister asked.

"Uh, now that I think of it, maybe that wasn't the best story," Tito said, scratching his head. "But I can help with the surfing."

Reggie perked up. "He did help Sammy learn to surf," she nudged Twister.

"You can help me before Otto finds out?" Twister questioned.

"Cuz, I'll have you surfing out there before the Ocean Shores Days Festival," Tito replied confidently.

With all that had happened the past week, they had actually forgotten about the Festival. It had started a few years ago and had become sort of a tradition for them. Raymundo and Tito were always crazy busy during the day because a lot of tourists would come for the festival. The kids would help around the shop and they would close up right before the parade started. While everyone else would try to get a good spot on the pier, the beach would be pretty empty and Raymundo and Tito would take the kids out to the ocean for some surfing before it got too dark. Then, they would stay on the beach, away from the crowd as they watched the fireworks. Reggie and Twister gave each other doubtful looks when Tito told them Twister would be surfing that soon.

"But that's on Friday," Twister said hesitantly.

"Just leave it to me, cuz. You'll be surfing again in no time."


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you sure about this?" Twister asked Reggie as they approached the beach the next morning.

"Tito seems pretty sure," she answered, evading the question.

They approached Tito and he instructed them to set their boards down and take a seat on the beach. They looked at each other skeptically, but obeyed.

"First, I want you to close your eyes and imagine yourself back under the water. You must feel it again in order allow it to leave your mind."

Twister followed the instructions and the fear came back to him. Reggie noticed him start to shake and she was about to say something to Tito when he held up a hand to stop.

He spoke to Twister again. "Now remember the first time you caught a wave. Remember the feelings of excitement and happiness and replace the bad memory with this one."

Twister tried and it seemed to start to work, but then the other memory came back to him and he was helplessly struggling for air. "It's not working," he said with his eyes still shut.

"Give it time, allow yourself to feel both if that is what your mind wants." Tito said calmly. "You may need a stronger memory. Think of another instance you felt happiness in surfing. A specific instance, the first competition you won, perhaps. Remember a time when the water was your friend, and not your enemy."

Twister squeezed his eyes shut harder to try to think of one. At first, all he could think of was being trapped under water, but then tried to think back to a specific instance where he was really happy to be surfing. It wasn't a competition. He didn't know when it had been or what else had happened that day. All he remembered was effortlessly catching a wave as Otto was in front of him and Reggie and Sam followed. He remembered catching a little air off the wave to try to impress Reggie. It was a sunny summer day and the waves had been amazing. There were no other surfers around them and they all rode it out smoothly before hopping off their boards and into the water. This time, as his mind led him back under the water, he smiled at the refreshing feeling of the cool salt-water smoothly gliding against his skin before he came up for air.

When he opened his eyes Tito was handing him his surfboard. "Now, you are ready."

As they paddled out, the only hard part for Twister had been nose-diving under the waves. He still had experienced the fear as he went through the first wave, but he tried to focus on how he used to love the feeling of going through a wave and it got easier for him as they continued.

"Think back to the memory," Tito shouted at him as they continued to paddle. "Remember that this is what you love. It's who you are."

When they saw a good wave come, they started paddling to try and catch it. Twister felt anxious as the wave got closer to him. He tried to remember what Tito had said but he felt like he wouldn't make it and the wave would knock him down, leaving him unable to get up again. His self-doubt led him to not stand up at the right time and the wave crashed on top of him. He toppled under the water and for a moment, the fear returned again, but then it almost felt nice in a way. Of course, he knew being tossed and turned under the water wasn't actually a pleasant feeling, but it reminded him of previous experiences where being thrown under a wave was just normal life instead of a way to die.

"Are you okay?" Reggie had already been paddling towards him when he came up over the water.

"Yeah," he said and for the first time since his accident, he had actually felt an strange peace in having been under the water. He hopped back on his board and looked back to see another wave forming. "Come on, let's go for this one," he said as he started paddling.

"That's the spirit, cuz!" Tito said as he also paddled quickly to try to get the wave.

This time when the wave came, Twister didn't feel anxious. He felt like he was meant to be surfing. It was a part of him and he needed to do it again. When the wave was close enough, he jumped up and rode out the wave without really even thinking about it. He could hear Reggie and Tito behind him, cheering him on. He felt a sense of euphoria as he surfed the wave. After the wave had died out, he jumped into the water and everything felt right; this was the way it was supposed to be.

For next two days, Otto hadn't suggested surfing because he had tunnel-vision about making sure they were ready for the hockey finals. Twister and Reggie didn't bring up surfing. Although he had now longed to go back in the water, he had told Reggie he thought it might be nice to have his return actually be when they went during the festival.

The day of the festival, everyone was doing anything they could to help at the Shack, but it still seemed almost impossible to keep up. Reggie and Otto were bussing tables while Sam and Twister washed dishes in the back. Tito was trying to cook the food as fast as Raymundo was taking the orders, but the orders kept piling up more and more. At the end of the day, they were all relieved to close up and hit the beach. As they paddled out into the ocean, Reggie and Tito stayed close to Twister for reassurance, but he didn't need it anymore. He was back to his old self, when surfing came as naturally as breathing to him. As they treaded water, waiting for another wave, they watched the festival happening on the pier. They saw lights and floats and they could hear the faint sound of the marching band mixed in with the roar of the ocean. Once they had been surfing for about an hour, they headed back to shore and sat on the beach, watching the rides lit up at the pier. The fireworks started and they all sat in amazement as they bursted in the sky. Reggie leaned against Twister and he put his arm around her and gently kissed her forehead. The fireworks reflected off the water as the waves rolled to shore.


End file.
